Michigan
22-1,12-1Big Ten
Ohio State
15-8,7-6Big Ten
Having Aday: Mara's Career-High 24 Points Anchor U-M in Win Over, Sweep of OSU
2/8/2026 5:28:00 PM | Men's Basketball
COLUMBUS, Ohio -- The second-ranked University of Michigan men's basketball team won in wire-to-wire fashion, downing rival Ohio State 82-61 at Schottenstein Center on Sunday afternoon (Feb. 8) to complete a series sweep of the Buckeyes. The Wolverines led by double digits the entirety of the second half, with an advantage as large as 23 with just over three minutes to go.
Leaders and Best
Aday Mara scored a career-high 24 points, including a career-best 11 made field goals and the first two three-pointers of his collegiate career. Yaxel Lendeborg added 14 points, 14 rebounds and three assists. Trey McKenney contributed 12 points off the bench and Morez Johnson Jr. posted 12 points of his own with 12 rebounds.
Turning Point
In the first half, Mara made his first career three-pointer with 6:14 to play in the first half to push U-M's lead to 29-25. The Wolverines proceeded to connect on four of five three-point attempts over the next two-plus minutes, ending with another Mara triple to give the Maize and Blue the game's first double-digit lead.
First Half
Michigan (22-1, 12-1 Big Ten) controlled the tip and led from the first possession with an initial score from Johnson Nimari Burnett then scored twice for the Wolverines, including a three-pointer from the left wing. The Buckeyes (15-8, 7-6 Big Ten) responded with a three before Johnson came back for a layup after grabbing multiple offensive rebounds. Mara received a lob from Elliot Cadeau for a score before delivering a posterizing putback two possessions later to give Michigan a 13-8 lead into the first media timeout at the 14:06 mark.
After the timeout, Roddy Gayle Jr. found McKenney in the left corner, and a L.J. Cason jumper put the Wolverines ahead 18-11. A pair of Buckeye baskets drew them within three, 18-15, but a Will Tschetter three put an end to the potential OSU run with 9:36 left in the half. The Maize and Blue came up empty on their next three field-goal attempts before Lendeborg made another Michigan three from the left corner before the under-eight media timeout.
The guard duo of Burnett and Cason splashed triples with five minutes to go before Mara hit a three of his own, his second of the game and his career. The make brought Michigan's lead to 38-28 with four minutes to play and marked the first double-digit lead of the contest.
A three-minute Michigan scoring drought followed Mara's three-pointer, snapped by Cason with 63 seconds to play in the first half. However, the Buckeyes managed to make a single free throw during Michigan's drought, with 10 total missed shots over the span. Johnson gathered his 10th rebound of the half and made a layup through contact before converting on the subsequent free throw, enough for Michigan's third consecutive double-digit halftime lead, 44-34, and sixth first-half of 40-plus points in its last seven games.
Second Half
Head coach Dusty May used his coach's challenge successfully on the first possession of the second half, which set up a Lendeborg dunk. The U-M defense forced another OSU turnover, and Mara capitalized with a turnaround floater. Cadeau connected with Mara for another lob to reach the 50-point mark, 50-36, with Mara scoring or assisting on the first three Michigan buckets of the half up to the media timeout with 16:23 to play.
Johnson scored the next U-M baskets, including a soaring dunk through the lane after a Lendeborg block and forcing an OSU timeout with 15:07 left. After the teams returned to the floor, Michigan committed two fouls and two turnovers, and Ohio State scored four points before the Wolverines called a timeout with 13:56 to play. Mara then made back-to-back buckets, while Ohio State made just one shot in nine attempts, resulting in a streak of six misses, and the Wolverines extended their lead to 15 points, 58-43.
Cadeau scored his first points of the game with 7:08 to play, with contributions coming from his five assists before the basket. He added a sixth assist on a pass to McKenney for a corner three. Lendeborg scored on a fast break off a Buckeyes turnover, and McKenney got a steal and drew a foul on the next possession. Lendeborg's free throw with 4:14 left capped an 8-0 Michigan run over two minutes to give it a 72-52 advantage. Lendeborg and Mara combined for three paint buckets in as many possessions in just over a minute, the final of the three scores enough for Mara to surpass his career high in points. Neither team scored much over the final two minutes, but U-M did enough to surpass the 80-point plateau for the third consecutive game and secure the victory.
What's Next
Michigan will remain on the road, heading to Evanston, Ill., to take on Northwestern at 7:30 p.m. CT on Wednesday (Feb. 11) inside Welsh Ryan Arena. The game will be broadcast live on Big Ten Network.
Notes
• Lendeborg and Johnson had double-doubles to mark the first time two Wolverines have achieved the feat in the same game since Lendeborg and Mara did so against Middle Tennessee on Nov. 19.
• U-M had 12 offensive rebounds in the first half, more than it had had in one half in 11 games this season.
• The victory is U-M's third straight over Ohio State and the sixth in the last seven games against OSU.
• The combined margin of victory against the Buckeyes (+33) is the largest combined margin of victory for the Wolverines in two games in the same season since 1988-89.
• This season marks the first in the Michigan-OSU rivalry since 2003 that either team has swept a multi-game season series while winning each by double digits.
• The Wolverines' 20 assists mark the first U-M performance with 20 helpers or more in a game since playing McNeese on Dec. 29.
• Michigan had just two turnovers in the first half, and finished the game with eight -- its first game with fewer than 10 since playing at Washington (Jan. 14).
